WOWOWOW! Horseback riding excursion - amazing!

[KathleenNC]

:D For those who'd like to try something different than cave tubing, my family experienced one of the most magical excursions imaginable.

 

I was concerned about horseback riding through the jungle/rainforest in terms of safety (animals, criminals, you name it) but my daughter is such a horse fanatic that I really wanted to arrange it. I emailed a couple of groups... and then emailed Smugglers Run Plantation.

 

Trevor, the owner, should be the poster child for outstanding customer service. He emailed back and forth with me for weeks before our trip (we we aboard the Jan 15 sailing of the Miracle) ... and I felt very much at ease after this correspondence.

 

We were met at the pier and from that moment on, were made to feel as if we were royalty. On the horseback ride, we had several staff accompanying us, including a botanist who pointed out every type of flora along the way. When my daughter (age 6) slipped off the horse (Trevor's daughter's own pony), you would not believe the care with which she was handled. She wasn't the least bit upset but Trevor and company were so worried about whether she was cold that they gave her shirts to put over her own. The day was rainy and not pleasant but even with that, this was the most amazing travel experience we've had.

 

The horses were a bit skittish because apparently jaguars were not far away - but the staff handled the horses with remarkable skill and care. I'm an animal rights person and was totally impressed with the love with which the horses are kept. A new foal arrived days before we embarked on the cruise and Trevor proudly showed us the new arrival - both by email before the trip and in person. Another foal was born after we left and we also have been graced with pictures of this new arrival.

 

The food at lunch was the best we had during the whole week-long vacation. We went through several of their homemade lime pies (blush) - and that was after pigging out on fabulous luncheon entrees. Even the picky kids in our family raved about the food.

 

The only way I can describe these folks is to say that I feel that they are family. They're a relatively new group, I think, but I imagine that it'll take off after word gets around. The website is www.smugglersrunbelize.com . If anyone has questions, feel free to email me or write Trevor at the email on the site - and be sure to tell him Kathleen sends hugs!

 

Happy cruising, all!

 

Kathleen

[susyls]

I wanted to do this tour but we are not in port long enough.

Thanks for the review. Susy

[vuittonmom]

Kathleen - Were there any type of weight restrictions? Could older people go on this?

[KathleenNC]

1. I'm not sure how briefly you're in port, but they can tailor-make an excursion to fit just about anything, I think. Our time in port was actually cut WAY short but a late arrival but all was fine.

 

2. They never mentioned any weight restrictions at all. They have quite a stable of horses so I'm sure they have some that can handle a larger rider - but Trevor can advise you on that. I'm not sure how much weight you're talking about but there were no questions about that when we booked.

 

They also didn't mention any age restrictions. My stepdad went and he's in his 60's. Again, they match you to a horse that matches you.

 

Feel free to ask anything else. I'm so sad - the cruise we're looking at in the fall doesn't include Belize - WAAAHHH!

[vuittonmom]

Kathleen:

 

Thanks for the quick answers! I know some of the horseback riding tours have weight restrictions of 140 pounds and I am about 10-15 over that which is why I was asking.

 

Where are you going on your next cruise? This is my first time (for me and my daughter) so we are pretty excited!

 

Kit

[KathleenNC]

140 pounds - errr... hmmm..... YIKES!

Most of the excursions I've seen with a weight limit put in 225 or 250 pounds... 140 pounds? They must not be able to do much business if they actually check that limit! ;)

 

I'm hoping to go on a cruise in the fall with Jamaica, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel as the destinations.

[dizneefreak28]

Kathleen:

 

Thanks for the review. I contacted Trevor after reading your post...you are right! He is great!

 

Were you able to see anything interesting during your ride? Or was it basically just trees? We found another horseback tour in Cozumel and are trying to decide if we should do this one in Belize instead.

 

Thanks for your help!

[KathleenNC]

Trevor can tell you more about what you're likely to see. Since I hadn't been on a horse in like 25 years, my focus was on staying mounted - and that my daughter was also on her horse instead of under him! :) Frankly, though, I intuitively feel a horseback ride in the rainforest of Belize would surpass a ride in Cozumel. We were at both ports this month and I'd not have been interested in riding in Cozumel. Wishing you the most wondrous of experiences!

 

Kathleen

[incowgnito]

Kathleen, what hours were you in port? Did you ride through the jungle on trails or was it riding through open fields (or maybe both)? Would you mind saying how much they charged? Their website didn't have any prices.

 

Kris

[KathleenNC]

Hi Kris,

 

We were scheduled to be in Belize from 8 to 5 - but the ship was late getting in. By the time we got off the tender, I think it was 10-something.

 

We went on trails as my group is pretty much beginning horseback riders :)

 

My stepfather is supposed to email me some of the pics from the trip and I'll get them online somewhere after he does.

 

Kathleen

[KathleenNC]

oops - price was $53 per person and included lunch (I'm pretty sure that was the cost - or within a couple dollars of that). Trevor can tailor an excursion to your hours and interests.

[incowgnito]

Thanks Kathleen. I'll look into this! sounds great.

[vuittonmom]

Oh well, I e-mailed this site - no response from them at all for many days - I guess we will try to do something else.

 

Sounds like fun though!

 

Kit

[Jdleong]

Try to e-mail again, I got email today from Trevor

[vuittonmom]

I got the reply thanking me for me e-mail, and then no response at all.

 

I guess my inclination would be that it is not a very professionally run operation or there would be some sort of response. Makes me a little leary of the group to be honest.

[KathleenNC]

:D Trevor is very quick to respond to emails and committed to top-notch customer service. (And no, I'm not related to them, employed by them, etc. I'm a lawyer living in North Carolina - and my trip in January was the first time I'd been to Belize)

 

There had to have been a glitch. In fact, Trevor just emailed me VERY concerned as his father told him that someone had posted about not hearing back from him. He cannot access the boards here at all and asked me to tell the person that somehow the wires (ie internet) got crossed up. Here's his email this afternoon. I do hope you'll try to reach him again. He was gracious enough to email back and forth with me for weeks before our arrival and they all went out of their way to ensure every last detail was to our full satisfaction. Please do email him back - trevor@smugglersrunbelize.com. This was truly the best excursion I've ever experienced.

 

Here's his email :

 

Kathleen,

I just received an email from my father who has been reading the cruise boards. He said there was someone who had written a negative comment about no response from us. I normally stay on top of such things. I hate to impose but could you check for me and let me know. Belize IP addresses are blocked from visiting cruise boards due to people advertising etc. posing as cruise guests.

Thanks in advance.......

Trevor

Smugglers Run Plantation

Belize

[vuittonmom]

Hi Kathleen - that's so interesting about being a lawyer in NC; I'm a paralegal in NC!

 

Anyway- I'm the one that didn't get a response. Could be that my work e-mail (which is what I used) sent the e-mail back as spam. I will e-mail him again in the morning because I would love to do this excursion. Tell him if you talk to him I didn't mean it as a negative - I was just disappointed.

 

Thanks!

 

Kit

[KathleenNC]

Small world! How are you today, neighbor? :D

 

I have the same issue with emails at work bouncing back. Makes it hard, doesn't it? Of course, it's possible something slipped by Trevor. No one's perfect. I just wanted to reassure you that he's not the kind of operator who would knowingly fail to reply. He's one of those rare individuals who is really, really conscientious and SOOOO service-oriented. I find that so rare (but refreshing!) nowadays that I just really want to sing Smugglers Run's praises from the rooftops. As consumers, we help shape the service industry through our patronage. So, indirectly, I have an interest in this as well. The more we as consumers network about our experiences, the higher the bar is raised for all providers of services (haven't had my coffee yet so have no idea if what I'm typing is making sense!) ;)

 

Specifically, it was almost shocking experiencing Smugglers Run's willingness to be SUPER flexible about what we wanted out of our excursion. Travel shouldn't be one-size-fits-all. Sure, I loved Soto's in the Cayman Islands and those kinds of excursions... but this is a whole different ball of wax. Trevor emailed me countless times (in response to my questions and comments) for weeks before our arrival on the Miracle. He made us feel like we were his ONLY guests - no, really, more like family. When Catherine picked us up at the pier, it was incredible - she saw us and addressed each of us by name, ie - figured out that the oldest in our group must have been my stepfather (Mike), that I was Kathleen.... "and this must be beautiful Caroline" (my 6-year-old daughter, etc etc. ).

 

I'm going to try to figure out how to link up our photos from the trip. JUST got the CD in my hands this AM!

 

Kathleen :p

[TooEze]

My wife, myself and our 13 yr old daughter went horseback riding with Trevor Miles and his wife Cathy last Wenesday at Smugglers Run. He told me that he was having problems with his e-mail server. I've received two e-mails from him since we've been back so his problem must be solved. This day was the highlight of our trip and it ranks up there the best things we've done in the Carribean or Mexico. I began e-mailing Trevor before Christmas and had more than a dozen responses on various questions that we had. If you have any questions on the quality of his operations or his proffesionalism, you don't have to worry. When we arrived on our tender, Cathy was waiting for us with our name on a sign. We had met a German couple on our roll card board that were also going for a wagon ride. They were with their mother and their 3 year old son Felix. So Cathy took us to a van where we met Trevor and a Belizean guide. During the 30 minute drive to the plantation the guide explained facts about the country which was an nice addition that we hadn't expected. The last 5 minutes of the ride in the plantation road is rough, but once there we came to a very large palapa that had modern clean restrooms, and kitchen and dinning facilities. There was a very nice wagon ready for the German family, and our horses saddled and ready to go. We had time for a bathroom break and we signed waivers for the riding. The men that were handling the horses were Mennonite farmers, and we were introduced to Issac and his twelve year old son. We were then taken on a two hour ride through an incredible jungle, and then at the end through lime and grapefruit orchards. We saw a few different birds, a snake, an iguana and what I believe was a tame kodimundi. My daughter also was able to interact with one of their new foals. After the riding was over we were taken back to the palapa to a meal consisting of both a belizean stewed chicken and an incredibly delicious bbq chicken that had been marinated in spices from the plantation. They also had fresh tortias, baked beans, coleslaw, homemade pickle salad made by the farmers wife. It was seved with fresh squeezed limeaid or beer. The meal made you feel as if you had been invited into their home. Then after lunch, we had another half hour of learning facts about Belize on our way back to the ship. Trevor and Cathy are two of the nicest people we have met in our travels, and their kindness and attention to detail made for a very memorable experience. I'd be more than happy to answer any questions about this trip, and again I can not more highly recommend doing this excursion.

 

Regards John

[vuittonmom]

Finally got the e-mail problems straightened out (problem was on my end at work!)

 

Trevor is the nicest man! Extremely professional - I've been getting all these great e-mails (even saw the new foal). We are definitely going to book. I can't wait.

 

What a nice man!

[TooEze]

Trevor and Cathy are two of the nicest people we have met in our travels. It will be the highlight of you trip. I can hardly wait to go back, I'm pretty sure we're going to try Belize for a week on its own next year.

 

Regards John

[Cruise4Sunshine]

How much did you pay for this excursion and lunch?

[TooEze]

We paid $40 per person for the riding and lunch. It was an additional $15 per person for the transportation, but both he and his wife personally met us as we came off the tender with our names on a board. They also had a Belizean tourist guide for the ride to and from the plantation, who added to the overall experience. It's about a 25 minute drive to get there.

 

Regards John

[KathleenNC]

So glad you got the email deal fixed! You're going to love Trevor's outfit. I'm so excited for you! Make sure to let me know every detail when you get back - and tell Trevor and Cathy that Kathleen sends hugs.

[Jdleong]

I have been trying to reach them and my e-mails are being sent back...If Trevor's dad reads these boards, we (the leong's )are trying to reach him about the Legend on the 15th. The answer is yes and there are 4 of us. I have even tried calling, no answer... I will keep trying...